


A lot of firsts

by ToxicPineapple



Series: Rantaro Amami Week 2020 [1]
Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: But this is how they like, Conversations, Developing Friendship, Developing Relationship, F/M, Get closer or whatever, Guys I'm literally fucking OBSESSED with this pairing, Injury, Late Night Conversations, Meet-Cute, Mentioned Injury, Pre-Relationship, Rantaro is a moron, Sort Of, they've already met
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:26:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26541370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToxicPineapple/pseuds/ToxicPineapple
Summary: Oof. Amami collides right with a person, having spaced out while walking. Honestly, he wasn’t going that fast, nor was he making an effort to walk quietly, so really he should’ve been easy to dodge, but despite this, and the shock of pain that goes through his midsection with the rebound, Amami reaches out, automatically, finding the person’s shoulder to steady them.Or-- well, he tries, but the second his hand makes contact (they’re pretty short, at least half a foot below Amami) they get his wrist in an iron grip, pulling it decidedly away from their arm. Another hand moves to Amami’s shoulder, and he doesn’t get pushed so much as maneuvered back a step, putting an arm’s length of distance between the two of them.More specifically, Harukawa’s arm’s length, which Amami becomes aware of when he reorients himself, wincing involuntarily from the sudden movement, making direct eye contact with her.Harukawa’s eyes are a vivid, burning red.---Amami, arriving home late from a trip, runs into someone in the courtyard.---Amami week day one: Stay/Go---Please support Amamatsu Week 2020. This is a personal writing project I'm doing among friends.
Relationships: Amami Rantaro/Harukawa Maki
Series: Rantaro Amami Week 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1941298
Comments: 2
Kudos: 26





	A lot of firsts

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Me, You and The Stars](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14478738) by [kazumaasougi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kazumaasougi/pseuds/kazumaasougi). 



> written for amami week day one, the prompt i used was stay/go
> 
> hehe! toxic back at it again! bet you didn't expect to see me writing anything at all ever again. but y'all know me i'm hyperfixated and could not stay away. i did rantaro amami week from sept 27-oct 3 last year and i am Back At It Again.
> 
> i didn't publicise amami week this year because it's a personal writing project i'm doing with a few other friends. here are the prompts for the week, but it is kind of a friend event, just for the record. i'm aware that i'm doing this at the exact same time as amamatsu week and i really wish i had known before i already had two fics finished so i could try and put it at another time FKJDSFKLj but yeah, please support amamatsu week and don't do this challenge with me unless you're one of my friends who was already doing it. <3
> 
> day one: stay/go  
> day two: lost/fault  
> day three: home/ocean  
> day four: trust/family  
> day five: safe/danger  
> day six: gold/green  
> day seven: free space/birthday

Amami didn’t mean to get back to Hope’s Peak so late at night. (Or rather, early in the morning, given that it passed midnight around… two and a half hours ago, but that’s just semantics, really, and Amami hasn’t slept yet, even on the flight, so… late at night works fine.) It’s just he got delayed on the way to the airport and then had to stop by a convenience store bathroom for reasons… semi-related to that delay.

On an unrelated note, bandaging a wound in convenience store restrooms is  _ hard.  _ Not enough wiggle room for Amami to go ape. But that’s not important. The fact of the matter is, he took too long and missed his flight. Typical careless decision on his part. The next flight wasn’t for another six hours, so Amami spent his time hanging around the airport and eating fries from one of the restaurants nearby. It sucked, a bit, because he told everyone (Akamatsu most importantly) an estimate of when he would be back today when he booked his flight yesterday, but it also kind of worked out in his favour.

See, whenever Amami comes back to school freshly stabbed, he kind of just hangs out in his room until he’s recovered well enough to go to class (usually for a day or two; Amami has a high pain tolerance and can deal with some classes) and then zooms off to another country. But getting back is always an issue, because flights are long and draining and Amami hasn’t been able to get his hands on painkillers until  _ just  _ now so generally speaking he’s feeling a bit worked. The flight he missed had him coming in at around eight in the evening, and knowing Akamatsu she would’ve dragged some friends out to greet him upon return, and granted, Amami wasn’t  _ planning  _ on getting stabbed, but coming back while there’s still light out and getting tackle hugged by Angie in his condition is… a recipe for questions.

Questions that Amami really does  _ not  _ want to answer, more specifically, so. Maybe the whole flight missing deal was a blessing in disguise. Even if people are awake by now, nobody is going to be out in the courtyard to watch Amami’s limp of shame back to the dorms. Amami is a little bit bummed that he let Akamatsu down, but making her think he missed the flight because he was airheaded and too slow was beyond easy. It’s a much better explanation than the truth, at any rate. Kinda sucks that she thinks he’s airheaded enough that she would just accept it without question, but, what can you do?

The gate creaks softly as Amami closes it. He smiles a little at the familiar sound, readjusting his grip on his suitcase and starting to cross the courtyard. It’s funny how Hope’s Peak is already more of a home to him than the Amami Manor, way up north in a more rural part of the prefecture. It’s sad, too, actually majority sad, only a little funny, but if Amami thinks about the sad parts then he’s going to start thinking about his sisters, and by extension he will be sad, and that’s just not the best, really. He’s going to avoid the whole being-sad deal, if he can.

Maybe it’s just because of the people at this school, that Amami feels so much more comfortable than he should after such a short amount of time. (Or, well, six months. It’s early October now, so Amami has been attending Hope’s Peak for a little over half a year.) They’ve got a lot of strong personalities here to be sure, but that’s nothing Amami isn’t used to, being the oldest of thirteen. He’s… fond of his classmates, more than he was expecting to be. Some more than others, to be sure-- and Amami would be lying if he said he didn’t find it uncomfortable, how Akamatsu cares so much about checking in on him while he’s out of the country, how Saihara seems so  _ curious  _ about what he’s really up to on his travels-- but on the whole, he just, likes them.

They make him feel like this is actually… a home, and not just a place where he’s spending time for no real reason. Ultimately Amami knows that it’s just as temporary as everywhere else he goes, that when he graduates from this school it won’t be just the building that he’ll be leaving behind, but for the moment… it’s nice. It’s really nice, for the moment. It’s nice to feel like he belongs, whenever he’s here. Amami can’t remember the last time he--

_ Oof.  _ Amami collides right with a person, having spaced out while walking. Honestly, he wasn’t going that fast, nor was he making an effort to walk quietly, so really he should’ve been easy to dodge, but despite this, and the shock of pain that goes through his midsection with the rebound, Amami reaches out, automatically, finding the person’s shoulder to steady them.

Or-- well, he tries, but the second his hand makes contact (they’re pretty short, at least half a foot below Amami) they get his wrist in an iron grip, pulling it decidedly  _ away  _ from their arm. Another hand moves to Amami’s shoulder, and he doesn’t get pushed so much as maneuvered back a step, putting an arm’s length of distance between the two of them.

More specifically, Harukawa’s arm’s length, which Amami becomes aware of when he reorients himself, wincing involuntarily from the sudden movement, making direct eye contact with her.

Harukawa’s eyes are a vivid, burning red, and Amami feels his breath catching at the sight of them. He doesn’t think he’s ever made eye contact with her before..

“Watch where you’re going,” Harukawa hisses, all narrowed eyes and bared teeth, (though she does lower her gaze so that they’re no longer staring directly into each other’s eyes), and Amami feels a chill of something sweeping through him, his heart skipping a beat. Harukawa is the Ultimate Childcaregiver, so logically there’s nothing here for him to be afraid of, but the way her expression is creased is quickening Amami’s pulse, for some reason. It’s a kind of fear he’s familiar with, from being held up in alleyways and caught out in the middle of nowhere on a lead, but never with someone like Harukawa, who is aloof at best but also small, and mostly just pouty. He’s not sure why he feels this way.

Maybe it’s just the amount of strength in her grip. “My bad, Harukawa-san,” Amami says, easy, maintaining a light, apologetic tone, though there’s a slight edge in his voice that is… probably as a result of the pain. If Harukawa hears it, her expression doesn’t change at all. She just keeps glaring at him, the frustration apparent in her expression. This is probably the first one on one conversation they’ve held since school started back in April. It’s not the best first impression. “I’ll be more careful, next time.”

There is a moment of silence, wherein Harukawa just glares at him, and Amami gets increasingly nervous, his palm beginning to sweat from where Harukawa is still holding his wrist in the air. Then Harukawa huffs out a sigh and releases him all at once, stepping back, reaching up a hand to tuck her hair out of her face. She mutters, “Whatever,” and Amami sighs too, then winces at the movement in his stomach. The big relieved sigh thing is cathartic when he’s just slightly less stabbed. Maybe not the move, here.

Especially because Harukawa’s eyes dart right back up to his face when he does. Yikes. Even before she starts talking, he’s already trying to come up with an excuse.

“What are you doing here so late?” Harukawa’s voice is a bit flat, and her expression doesn’t betray any concern. Amami  _ knows  _ she’s only continuing the conversation because she saw him wince, so he doesn’t know why she’s not getting to the point, but he’s not about to start preemptively explaining if there’s a chance she’ll let him off the hook without asking any questions.

“Didn’t Akamatsu-san tell you? I missed my flight,” Amami smiles, chuckling sheepishly, lifting his now freed hand to rub the back of his neck. “Spaced off and got to the airport too late, haha. Guess my plane wasn’t the only thing in the clouds earlier.”

Harukawa rolls her eyes, and doesn’t dignify his joke with a response, which Amami thinks is fair. “I’m not on her welcoming committee, or whatever she calls it,” Harukawa says, pouting, tugging on one of her twin tails and wrinkling her nose at the ground. Amami has seen her make that expression before, briefly, in conversation with Momota or Akamatsu. He’s always found it a bit cute, though he suspects verbalising as much would have unfavourable results for his stab wound, so he keeps the thought to himself. “It’s stupid,” Harukawa adds, and Amami pulls his mind back to the current conversation. “You’re gone so often that giving you a big welcome back every time is… stupid.”

Actually, Amami agrees with this sentiment wholeheartedly. This time it was somewhat justifiable, because he left the day before his birthday and Akamatsu didn’t find that out until the day before he was coming home, but it’s not like this is the only time Akamatsu has tried to plan something like this. It’s really  _ sweet,  _ and Amami appreciates it, it’s just that all that the fanfare really does is call  _ more  _ attention to the fact that he’s gone so often. Not to mention that a useless brother like him isn’t really worth the effort.

It would be mean, though, to say that about Akamatsu when she’s never been anything but absolutely sweet to him, so Amami shrugs instead, smiling a placid little smile and making a noncommittal hum in the back of his throat.

“It’s nice of them,” Amami says, tilting his head to the side. “It makes me feel more welcome around here despite how often I’m gone. Without the effort I think I’d start feeling pretty left out, haha.” Not that he doesn’t already, but… there’s truth in what Amami is saying.

“...It’s idiotic to base your sense of belonging around how often you’re present,” Harukawa mutters, after a moment, her gaze fluttering to the ground. “Someone could stay in one place all the time and still not belong.”

Is… Harukawa trying to console him? Amami smiles more genuinely. “I appreciate that, Harukawa-san. You’re probably right, haha. I’m a part of this class. Akamatsu-san wouldn’t try so hard if I wasn’t.” Harukawa shrugs, fiddling with the collar of her jacket, and it occurs to Amami to ask a question of his own. “Hey, but, what’s got you up so late, huh? You doing okay?”

“I’m fine,” Harukawa says, not the least bit sharply, and Amami raises his eyebrows. “Really, there’s nothing wrong.” She huffs, puffing out her cheeks, folding her arms across her chest. (Cute.) “I just had some business to take care of back at the orphanage. I didn’t think anyone would be awake right now.”

“To be fair,” Amami chuckles, “neither did I.” He gestures. “Probably why I almost plowed you over, to be truthful. I didn’t think there was a chance of my running into anybody on my way to hit the hay.”

Harukawa’s lip twitches, just the slightest bit, like she’s fighting off the urge to smile. “You wouldn’t have plowed me over,” she says, and Amami recalls the amount of strength in her grip when they collided, and thinks that’s… probably true. Still, worth making a little fumble with his words to see that sort-of smile struggling to appear on Harukawa’s features. He doesn’t think he’s  _ ever  _ seen her smile before, actually.

A lot of firsts in this conversation, huh.

“Anyway,” Harukawa breathes out, stepping back a little more and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’m going to bed, so. Do what you want.”

“Uh--” Amami doesn’t know what he’s doing; by all means he could just let Harukawa go, let all of this rest, not even worry about it, and yet, “Harukawa-san, did you--?”

She turns around, her brows raised, slightly annoyed, slightly inquisitive. “What?”

“Did you, uhm, notice my,” Amami gestures vaguely at his midsection. Harukawa pauses, then gives a curt nod, turning her head slightly, so that Amami only sees her profile. It’s impossible to tell what she’s thinking right now. “Then… why didn’t you--?”

“It’s none of my business,” Harukawa furrows her brow slightly. “I don’t care what it is that you’re doing when you’re traveling. Doesn’t affect me.” She starts walking away again, but before she’s completely gone, she says, “Besides, you didn’t ask what I had to do at the orphanage. Tsumiki keeps bandages and antibiotics in the cabinet directly on the right of the sink.”

With that, Harukawa slips inside the girl’s dorms, and Amami stands there for a moment, reeling slightly at the interaction he just had.

...After a moment, he feels his chest (and his face) blossom with warmth. Did Harukawa just…?

Huh. Okay. Amami smiles to himself, picking his suitcase back up. Good to know. Amami has some bandages left in his first aid kit, but he’ll pop by the infirmary tomorrow. Always helpful to stock up.

And it would be rude not to honour the advice Harukawa gave him, after she let him off the hook like that.

**Author's Note:**

> oomf. i am weak for this pairing. i know we're in major rarepair territory out here but in my defense, like, my two comfort characters? what were you expecting from me, here.


End file.
